UK regulator takes no action over Miriam Margolyes comments
Comments made about Boris Johnson were considered in keeping with the tone of The Last Leg.
- Published by David Knox
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British regulator OfCom will take no action against comments made by Miriam Margolyes on The Last Leg, in which she said she wanted PM Boris Johnson to die of coronavirus.
Hills asked Margolyes, “How do you think the government have handled everything so far, Miriam?”
She replied: “Appallingly of course, appallingly. It’s a disgrace, it’s a scandal, it’s a public scandal. I mean I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die, I wanted him to die, and then I thought that reflects badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person who wants people to die.
“So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better, but he didn’t get better as a human being and I really would prefer that. So, you know we’re in the shit basically here.”
494 complaints were made by UK viewers to the watchdog, but it ruled, “We considered that these comments had the potential to cause offence, because Miriam Margolyes sought to derive humour from Boris Johnson’s experience of a serious and potentially fatal health condition, which had required him to be hospitalised and treated in intensive care.
“In our view, the level of offence was likely to have been exacerbated because Miriam Margolyes’ comments were made at a particularly sensitive time, given the seriousness of the current health crisis.
“However, we considered that most viewers would have seen this as Miriam Margolyes expressing, in comedic terms, disagreement with Boris Johnson at a political level, which viewers would have seen as being legitimate for her to have done, in keeping with the format and tone of The Last Leg.”
They also took into account that the hosts ‘looked visibly shocked’ in reaction to her comments and did not endorse them.
Margoyles also attracted recent headlines in Australia for comments about Gold Coast property development, which she deemed an eyesore on the beach.
ABC edited her Last Leg comments from iview, trimming them to “Appallingly of course… So, you know we’re in the shit basically here.”
Source: Chortle
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8 Responses
I echo the comments here. Why is this woman allowed to be so prolific on our screens? She just seems to be on everything at the moment. I even can’t stand her character in Call the Midwives.
I’m no fan of Boris, but Miriam’s unfiltered potty mouth is always embarrassing. She shouldn’t be wishing anyone dead.
Those who watched the Brexit political dogfights will know that the left wing will be after Boris, as the British Labour Party’s status has taken a few damaging hits to its credibility in recent years.
Miriam couldn’t help herself it seems (as a satirist) but she should have known better, lose talk can cost careers.
Gotta love the tolerant compassionate elitest leftist. Wishing death on anyone that doesn’t agree with their line of thinking. Beautiful stuff.
At 494 I would presume complaints came from both sides?
I’m referring to the charming person who said she wanted PM Boris Johnson to die of coronavirus, not the people who complained.
Simply good
Publicly wishing somebody would die, regardless of the attempted retraction isn’t good. I have lost all respect for this person. We live in very sad days.